Description: This book tells the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe (author of Uncle Tom's Cabin), her brother Charles, and a small group of Yankee reformers who lived in Reconstruction Florida.
Brief description: John T. Foster Jr., professor emeritus of anthropology at Florida A&M University, has published widely in the social sciences and history.
Review Quotes:
"A compelling account of Florida during the Reconstruction era, when Yankee reformers attempted to remake the state to their liking."--Tampa Tribune
"In this nicely layered narrative, the Fosters heap detailed example upon detailed example to allow readers to discover, along with them, Florida's fascinating formative years."--Foreword Reviews
"A valuable book. . . . Will provide a springboard for much research into politics, gender, and religion in Florida in the tumultuous postbellum period."--H-Net
"Biographical detail fleshes out the narrative of progressive activism. By locating actors in a generational web, the Fosters enhance our understanding of bourgeois networks in the mid-nineteenth century. . . . Both engaging and important."--Journal of American History
"Chronicles the efforts of northern reformers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe. . . to reconfigure Florida's social, political, educational, and religious institutions to fit the sensibilities of northern migrants who came to the state during and after Reconstruction."--Journal of Southern History
"[The authors] draw deeply from their sources to trace the impact of a select and tightly knit group of Yankees on Florida late-nineteenth century experience. . . . Not just a tale of Florida's early flirtation with modernization, but a look at the forces and ideas that created the south that exists today."--Florida Historical Quarterly